The study of flame commencement and growth in SI engine has attracted the attention of many researchers due to its strong dependence to the in-cylinder flow and its capability to influence flame propagation characteristics in SI engines. Optical visualisation has been one of the prominent techniques utilized in this study of the early flame properties. This work shows the application of Elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) and image processing tools for the investigation of the early flame details from its shape features. An endoscopic ICCD camera was used to capture the flame images, at an interval of 2° CA starting from ignition onset for a period of 30° CAs (about 3 ms), from a CNG DI single cylinder SI engine operation in stratified and homogeneous charge conditions. The intake configuration was adjusted to acquire tumble or swirl induction, and engine speed was made to vary between 1500 and 2100 rpm. The sequences of collected images were processed to investigate wrinkles, distortion and growth rate of the early flame within the 3 ms combustion duration. Some tools of image processing, such as intensity enhancement, filtering, thresholding and boundary tracing, were applied. Once the flame boundary identified, it was chain coded, and elliptic Fourier function was utilised to characterise the contour. For this purpose, a computer programming code was proposed by the authors for automatic processing of the flame image data. The application of the elliptic Fourier analysis was found useful in the investigation of the early flame characteristics from its shape features; led to the portrayal of wrinkles and distortion levels quantitatively in a simpler way.


In the structure of intrahospital infections the infections of urinary tract make up from 20 to 40%. This problem represents special medical-social significance for trauma departments as patients with trauma are being in forced situation for along time. 380 patients older than 60 years (average age 73.6 ± 9.2 years) with a fracture of proximal femur against background of the systemic osteoporosis having in-patient treatment in the trauma department of the Republic Hospital No2 were being examined and treated from 2011 to 2013. Urinary tract infections were diagnosed in 130 (34.2%) patients (average age 77.3 ± 8.3 years). Women (80%-82%) with the average age 77.7 ± 8.2 years prevailed by gender signs. From them 40 (30.8%) patients admitted with prehospital urinary tract infections and intrahospital urinary tract infections were diagnosed in 90 (69.2%) patients. In etiological structure of urinary tract infections the part of gram-negative microorganisms made up 47.4%, the leading role belonged to the family of Enterobacteriaceae. Escherichia coli (23.3%) and Klibsiella pneumonia (12%) were the most significant from them. Gram-positive microorganisms 44% were sown in the second place. More frequently Enterococci (33.6%) were separated such as Enterococcus faecium (18.1%) and Enterococcus faecalis (15.5%). Intrahospital urinary tract infections resistant to antimicrobial therapy were observed in 6.7% patients with systemic osteoporosis and fracture of proximal femur. The average duration of preoperative preparation and in-patient treatment of patients with fracture of proximal femurand concomitant urinary tract infections is much more (3.9 days and 5.4 bed-days correspondingly) higher than the average indications of all operated patients in the department.


The number of automobiles has seen an alarming rise in the recent years. In the year 2014, the number of road vehicles produced annually increased to 87.23 million vehicles from around 40 million in 2000. This shows that production has increased to more than twice the volume in only 14 years. This has also caused a rise in the pollution levels. Global CO2 levels are on the rise due to increased pollution, contributing to the greenhouse effect. Hence it is very important to reduce our dependency on gasoline driven vehicles. Electric vehicles are a good alternative to these. The advent of electric vehicles is marred by factors like unavailability of charging stations and most importantly not being able to match the performance parameters offered by gasoline driven vehicles. Hence a driveline setup has been designed to increase the performance parameters like gradeability and top speed of an electric moped to set it at par with the gasoline powered mopeds available on the market. In this report we will focus on the design considerations, working principle and the mechanism for the said driveline as well as the design calculations and the CAD model. Keywords— automatic, centrifugal clutch, drive train, electric vehicles, freewheel, mopeds, transmission.


We address the problem of learning the structure of a high-dimensional Gaussian graphical model conditional on covariates, when each sample belongs to groups at multiple levels of hierarchy. The existing statistical methods for learning covariate-conditioned Gaussian graphical models focused on learning the aggregate behavior of inputs and outputs in a single-layer network. We propose a statistical model called multi-level conditional Gaussian graphical models for modeling multi-level output networks influenced by both individual-level and group-level inputs. We describe a decomposition of our model into a product of two components, one for sum variables and the other for difference variables derived from the original variables. This decomposition leads to an efficient learning algorithm for both complete data and incomplete data with randomly missing individual observations, as the expensive repeated computation of the partition function can be avoided. We demonstrate our method on simulated data and real-world data in finance and genomics.


A 59-year-old man presented with abdominal and left flank pain. The symptom had started 30 days before as an acute nephrolithiasis, which had worsened despite conservative management. The abdomen was slightly distended and tender over the lower abdomen, without signs of generalized peritoneal irritation. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed an abscess in left para-renal space up to the subphrenic space and an unexpected pneumomediastinum. An emergency operation was performed, which showed retroperitoneal diverticulitis perforation of the sigmoid descending junction with abscess formation. A segmental resection of the diseased colon and end-colostomy was performed (Hartmann's procedure). However, the patient's condition progressively deteriorated, and he died of sepsis and multi-organ failure on the 5th postoperative day. Although pneumomediastinum caused by colonic diverticulitis perforation is extremely rare, it could be a life-threatening condition in patients without signs of peritonitis because of delayed diagnosis.


The crack propagation rate was studied on axially loaded specimens of oxygen-free, high conductivity copper tested in the high cycle life region. Fatigue tests were conducted under load control without a mean load. The variables of the test conditions were the engineering stress range, the average grain size, and the atmosphere (air and argon gas). The crack propagation rate during the first 80 percent of the life was determined by using an electropolishing technique. The rate was also measured after final failure of each specimen from the distances of the striations on the fracture surface observed through a scanning electron microscope. The crack propagation rate depended upon the test conditions as well as on the prior stress cycling. The crack propagation was divided into two main stages: the crack nucleation and microcrack development stage, and the crack propagation or macrocrack development stage. Argon gas atmosphere reduced the macrocrack propagation rate, but did not affect the crack nucleation and microcrack development significantly. Increasing the grain size shortened the crack nucleation stage markedly.


We introduce frameworks for constructing global derived moduli stacks associated to a broad range of problems, bridging the gap between the concrete and abstract conceptions of derived moduli. Our three approaches are via differential graded Lie algebras, via cosimplicial groups, and via quasicomonoids, each more general than the last. Explicit examples of derived moduli problems addressed here are finite schemes, polarised projective schemes, torsors, coherent sheaves and finite group schemes.


OBJECTIVES--To examine the microflora of the upper small intestine in patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a combination of microbial cultivation and tests for microbial metabolic activity. METHODS--Twenty five patients with seropositive RA, 12 achlorhydric control subjects, and 11 control subjects with normal gastric acid secretion were investigated. Disease activity was evaluated in the patients with RA by three different indices. Eight (32%) of the patients with RA had hypochlorhydria or achlorhydria. The acid secretory capacity was determined with pentagastrin stimulation. A modified Crosby capsule was used to obtain biopsy specimens and samples of intestinal fluid from the proximal jejunum; aerobic and anaerobic microbial cultivation of mucosal specimens/intestinal fluid was carried out, and gas production and microflora associated characteristics in jejunal fluid were determined. Additionally, a bile acid deconjugation breath test was performed. RESULTS--Subjects with at least one of the following findings were considered to have bacterial overgrowth: positive bile acid deconjugation test; growth of Enterobacteriaceae; positive gas production; or low tryptic activity. By these criteria half of the patients with RA with hypochlorhydria or achlorhydria and half of the achlorhydric controls had bacterial overgrowth. Thirty five per cent of the patients with RA with normal gastric acid secretion had bacterial overgrowth compared with none of the normal controls. Disease activity indices and rheumatoid factor titres were significantly higher in patients with RA with bacterial overgrowth than in those without. CONCLUSIONS--A high frequency of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth was found in patients with RA; it was associated with a high disease activity and observed in patients with hypochlorhydria or achlorhydria and in those with normal acid secretion.


Heavy metals can be transferred from soils to other ecosystem parts, and affect ecosystems and human health through the web chain. Since several years, this environmental issue concerns scientists. In this context, heavy metal concentrations were studied in agricultural soils devoted to vegetable crops in the province of Castellon (East Spain), where an intensive agriculture takes place. Furthermore, heavy metals bioavailability and their influence on vegetable crops are studied, as starting point for developing adequate strategies to prevent soil contamination. Soil properties, total and extractable heavy metal contents in soils (USEPA 3051A method and EDTA 0,05M extraction) and heavy metal contents in crops (leaf and inflorescence crops) were determined to carry out this study.
Total concentrations (mg/kg) of heavy metals (0,328 for Cd, 7,7 for Co, 33,3 for Cr, 36,6 for Cu, 16.915 for Fe, 385 for Mn, 19,3 for Ni, 55,8 for Pb and 78,5 for Zn) reflect normal levels for agriculture soils. However, high levels have been found in some samples, where probably contaminated associated to inadequate practices are acting. Two groups of heavy metals were obtained by multivariate analysis, which may indicate source of the heavy metals. Furthermore, mean percentages of extractable fraction relative to total content reflect that Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn are more bioavailability. This can be due to their human-induced origin.
The comparison of heavy metal contents between the two crop types and soils, which were grouped by crop types, shows that heavy metal contents (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Pb) were higher in leaf crops than in inflorescence crops, except for Zn. The higher contents of heavy metals in leaf crops seem to be due to metabolic processes as these crops are accumulators.
Finally, total concentrations were considered to establish background and reference values for agricultural soils with vegetable crops in Castellon. These values were derived by applying several statistic approaches, and one of them were selected as a proposal of reference values. This proposal will allow assessing contaminated processes by heavy metals and, following Spanish Royal Decree 9/2005, to declare a soil as contaminated.


The impetus to decolonise high schools and universities has been gaining momentum in Southern locations such as South Africa and Australia. In this article, we use a polyvocal approach, juxtaposing different creative and scholarly voices, to argue that poetry offers a range of generative possibilities for the decolonisation of high school and university curricula. Australian First Nations' poetry has been at the forefront of the Indigenous political protest movement for land rights, recognition, justice and Treaty since the British settlement/invasion. Poetry has provided Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with a powerful vehicle for speaking back to colonial power. In this article, a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers argue that poetry can be a powerful vehicle for Indigenous voices and Knowledges. We suggest that poetry can create spaces for deep listening (dadirri), and that listening with the heart can promote truth-telling and build connections between First Nations and white settler communities.  These decolonising efforts underpin the "Wandiny (gathering together)—Listen with the Heart: Uniting Nations through Poetry" research that we discuss in this article. We model our call-and-response methodology by including the poetry of our co-author and Aboriginal Elder of the Kungarakan people in the Northern Territory, Aunty Sue Stanton, with poetic responses by some of her co-authors.


BACKGROUND
Providing analgesia for patients with rib fractures continues to be a management challenge. The objective of this study was to examine our experience with the use of a continuous intercostal nerve block (CINB). Although this technique is being used, little data have been published documenting its use and efficacy. We hypothesized that a CINB would provide excellent analgesia, improve pulmonary function, and decrease length of stay (LOS).

METHODS
Consecutive adult blunt trauma patients with three or more unilateral rib fractures were prospectively studied over 24 months. The catheters were placed at the bedside in the extrathoracic, paravertebral location, and 0.2% ropivacaine was infused. Respiratory rate, preplacement (PRE) numeric pain scale (NPS) scores, and sustained maximal inspiration (SMI) lung volumes were determined at rest and after coughing. Parameters were repeated 60 minutes after catheter placement (POST). Hospital LOS comparison was made with historical controls using epidural analgesia.

RESULTS
Over the study period, 102 patients met inclusion criteria. Mean age was 69 (21-96) years, mean injury severity score was 14 (9-16), and the mean number of rib fractures was 5.8 (3-10). Mean NPS improved significantly (PRE NPS at rest = 7.5 vs. POST NPS at rest = 2.6, p < 0.05, PRE NPS after cough = 9.4, POST after cough = 3.6, p < 0.05) which was associated with an increase in the SMI (PRE SMI = 0.4 L and POST SMI = 1.3 L, p < 0.05). Respiratory rate decreased significantly (p < 0.05) and only 2 of 102 required mechanical ventilation. Average LOS for the study population was 2.9 days compared with 5.9 days in the historical control. No procedural or drug-related complications occurred.

CONCLUSION
Utilization of CINB significantly improved pulmonary function, pain control, and shortens LOS in patients with rib fractures.


Many residential houses combine residential fuel cell (FC) systems with photovoltaic (PV) systems. Under Japan's Feed-in Tariff Program, utilities must purchase electricity generated by PV systems at high prices. As a result, most generated power is sold, not used in homes, and FC system output follows demand. The currently high purchase price of generated electricity is not likely to continue indefinitely, however. This paper proposes a new method for determining the optimal FC system output that minimizes primary energy consumption. We verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in comparison with primary energy consumption using conventional methods.


The concept maps (cognitive maps; mind mapping) can be defined as mirrors of the thinking, feeling and understanding manner of the one(s) approaching them. They can therefore be used in learning concepts (leading to facilitating the representation of the learning process) and in assessing the knowledge.
Their current use in the teaching activity opens new perspectives to an active and conscious learning process to the detriment of the one based exclusively on memorisation and reproduction.
Attracting students to use such concept maps for fixing, clarifying and assessing the knowledge is challenging for the teaching staff in the technical education system, and not only. Thus, attracting the students leads to a good clarification of the concepts they acquired giving them, at the same time, through these resources, the possibility to verify, strengthen and clarify their knowledge.
This paper sets out the SWOT analyses of the applications designed for elaborating concept maps existing on-line (only the ones the authors use, such as Mind Meister, Gliffy, Mind42, Bubbl.us, XMind, Creately, Mindomo, Think Fold,Mywebspiration, Spinscape,Lucid Charts, Spicy Nodes, Mind Jet Catalyst, Comapping and not ultimately SmartDraw - where create great-looking mind maps, concept maps, flowcharts in minutes), this analysis focusing on the differentiated elements, useful for the teachers and students in the teaching activity. The websites studied and presented in this paper can be used in various fields of activity.
Using this method in the performance assessment leads to conceptualising some programmes for improving, recovering or accelerating the evaluation tests (it practically facilitates the evaluation process).


The growth of social media outlets in which individuals post opinions on publicly consumed goods provides an interesting and relatively unexplored area for examination of the role of crowd sourcing amateur opinions in areas traditionally relegated to experts. In this paper we use wine as an illustrative example to investigate the interaction between social media and expert reviews in the market for high end consumer goods. In particular, we exploit a novel data set constructed from the social media website CellarTracker, which is composed of the averaged individual reviews for 355 distinct wines on a quarterly basis from 2004 through 2017, and pair this with a similarly dimensioned panel of average auction prices for these wines as well as the reviews from three leading experts. We develop a signal extraction model to motivate the interaction between amateurs and experts in revealing a measure of the quality of the wine. The model is then used to motivate the adaptation of an empirical panel structural VAR approach based on Pedroni (2013) by embedding the expert reviews as an event analysis within the panel VAR, which is used to decompose information into components that signal the quality of the liquid in the bottle versus other aspects of the wine that are valued by the market. The approach also allows us to decompose the influence of the expert reviews into components associated with what we define as the quality of the wine versus the pure reputation effect of the expert. The results on expert reviews are consistent with the idea that experts can substantially impact prices through channels other than their signals of quality.


Dimple fracture tests are conducted under mode I and mixed mode lading conditions. Dimple fracture zone and shear-lip fracture zone are observed by scanning electron microscope precisely. It is found that crack growth direction is affected largely by the change of loading condition. It is also found that the differences of fracture pattern between mid-plane and at free surface are very large. Void diameter and crack growth direction are measured. Numerical simulation is conducted to simulate fracture tests in three-dimensional field. Gurson's constitutive equation is used and large deformation analyses are conducted. It is assumed that void nucleation is controlled by both plastic strain and stress. Numerical results are compared with those of experiments. It is found that results of numerical simulation agree well with those of experiment qualitatively.


The current work reports the influence of synthetic seawater on some of the durability aspects of an ordinary concrete mixture (control) and six pozzolan-concrete mixtures. Three types of pozzolanic materials were employed; silica fume (SF), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and metakaolin (MK). The pozzolanic materials were employed as an addition to cement in binary and ternary combinations. All mixtures were tested for strength deterioration ratio (SDR) after 3, 6, and 12 months of exposure to synthetic seawater, permeability was measured after 6 and 12 months of exposure. It was found through this investigation that pozzolans increase the ability of concrete to withstand aggressive environment and prevent most of the deterioration signs. The pozzolanic materials serve also to increase the strength and to minimize the strength loss (SDR) upon exposure to seawater. The pozzolanic materials led to reduce concrete permeability compared to control.


All countries in Southeast Asia have faced the threat of widespread outbreaks of Coronavirus (COVID-19). One of the countries in Southeast Asia that experienced the most significant impact from COVID-19 is the Philippines. This paper discusses the COVID-19 threat as a form of non-traditional human security threat and the Philippines Government's need to carry out securitization and response measures to prevent the spread of the threat. In addition, this paper also explains the impact of COVID-19 in the Philippines and the new normal conditions after the lockdown was put in place by the government. This descriptive analysis shows that the COVID-19 outbreak, as a non-traditional security threat, impacted various Philippines' sectors. This result also indicates the Philippine government's response in dealing with the impact arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and the implementation of new normal to drive the economy. Therefore, we divide the discussion into four parts: First, an overview describes the Philippines' COVID-19 cases. Second, explain the impact of a pandemic in various fields. Third, define the response of the Philippine Government in dealing with COVID-19. Fourth, describing the challenges in dealing with COVID-19 in the Philippines and the new normal situation in force in the Philippines.


This dissertation leverages the recent advances in fabricating nanogratings with highly tunable birefringent properties to address some important challenges in high resolution microscopy.
Out-of-focus features of a sample cause blurring in wide-field microscopes. Polarized illumination coded Structured Illumination Microscopy (picoSIM) addresses this problem by performing optical sectioning, that too in a single exposure. Using nanogratings improves the light efficiency of picoSIM by 70%, while simultaneously making the setup compact. It also extends picoSIM to reflective microscopy applications by allowing the use of incoherent light. The first practical implementation of picoSIM for material imaging with a field-of-view of 100 µm x 128 µm at a fast acquisition rate of 154 fps is demonstrated.
Reliably visualizing three-dimensional biological structures requires an extended depth-of-field (EDF). However, the axial elongation of focus is accompanied by loss of lateral resolution. To address this challenge, a beam shaping device called Hybrid filter based on nanogratings is proposed. This device combines radial polarization with a binary phase filter for pupil modulation to achieve EDF at high numerical aperture. Two designs of this device obtained by different methodologies are fabricated and compared. Axial elongation of 1.69 and 2.66 and lateral resolution improvement of 17.8% and 22.7% compared to a Gaussian focus is demonstrated.
Aligning a STimulated Emission Depletion (STED) microscope can be challenging due to the phase mask needed to generate the depletion beam. A nanogratings based Quadrant Retarder Plate has been proposed in this work to reduce the manufacturing complexity. This wavelength-selective device can potentially simplify a STED microscope by combining the paths of the excitation and depletion beams. Preliminary results obtained with a prototype of this device are presented and suggestions to improve its performance are discussed.


Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids that are selectively taken up into the macula of the eye, where they are thought to protect against the development of age-related macular degeneration. They are obtained from dietary sources, with the highest concentrations found in dark green leafy vegetables, such as kale and spinach. In this Review, compositional variations due to variety/cultivar, stage of maturity, climate or season, farming practice, storage, and processing effects are highlighted. Only data from studies which report on lutein and zeaxanthin content in foods are reported. The main focus is kale; however, other predominantly xanthophyll containing vegetables such as spinach and broccoli are included. A small amount of data about exotic fruits is also referenced for comparison. The qualitative and quantitative composition of carotenoids in fruits and vegetables is known to vary with multiple factors. In kale, lutein and zeaxanthin levels are affected by pre-harvest effects such as maturity, climate, and farming practice. Further research is needed to determine the post-harvest processing and storage effects of lutein and zeaxanthin in kale; this will enable precise suggestions for increasing retinal levels of these nutrients.


This article examines the effectiveness and feasibility of some of the main proposals for financial taxes by analysing their economic rationale and impact and some related international trade law issues regarding their implementation. The advantages and disadvantages are considered in terms of their effect on risk mitigation, market liquidity and the provision of sustainable revenue. The article suggests that financial transaction taxes, especially those applied to currency transactions and exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives, could serve regulatory objectives while raising adequate revenue to assist governments in paying for the social costs of financial crises and providing global public goods. Oxford University Press 2010, all rights reserved, Oxford University Press.


This study uses data from the 4th Nationwide Person Trip Survey to analyse the relation between the built environment, modal access preference at residential location and travel behaviour in Japan. By estimating random parameter count models, significant statistical associations were found between the built environment and preferences with non-work trip frequency by mode. Furthermore the effect of population density, car ownership and some access preference traits were found to be heterogeneous for some modes. Since most of the recent literature has focused largely on North-American and European cities, this study contributes to the existing body of literature by examining the role of the built environment and individual preferences on travel behaviour in the context of Japanese cities, and sheds some light on existing heterogeneity in the effects of some factors related to travel behaviour.


UNLABELLED
We compared cerebrovascular carbon dioxide reactivity during the administration of sevoflurane and isoflurane anesthesia by measuring cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) as an indirect measurement of cerebral blood flow. Thirty patients, 20-70 yr old, undergoing lower abdominal surgery and without known cerebral or cardiovascular system disease, were randomly assigned to either sevoflurane or isoflurane treatment groups. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental 5 mg/kg IV and maintained with either sevoflurane or isoflurane in 67% nitrous oxide and oxygen. The CBFV and pulsatility index (PI) of the left middle cerebral artery were monitored with transcranial Doppler. The P(ETCO)2 was increased stepwise from 20 to 50 mm Hg by changing the respiratory rate with a constant tidal volume. At every 5-mm Hg stepwise change in P(ETCO)2, CBFV and PI were recorded. CBFV increased with increasing P(ETCO)2. CBFV was significantly smaller in the isoflurane group at P(ETCO)2 = 20-40 mm Hg than in the sevoflurane group. The rate of change of CBFV with changes in CO2 was larger in the isoflurane group than in the sevoflurane group. PI was constant over time and was not different between groups. In conclusion, hypocapnia-induced reduction of intracranial pressure might be more effective during the administration of isoflurane than sevoflurane.

IMPLICATIONS
Changes in cerebral blood flow caused by the changes of carbon dioxide tension are greater during the administration of isoflurane anesthesia compared with sevoflurane anesthesia. Attempts to decrease intracranial pressure by decreasing carbon dioxide tension may be more successful during isoflurane than sevoflurane anesthesia administration.


We have developed a standard UV-LED light source mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), so-called the Opt-copter,
 for the calibration of the Fluorescence Detectors (FDs) of the Telescope Array experiment.
 The positioning accuracy of the GPS controlled UAV is ~ 10 cm, which allows accurate calibration of the pointing directions of the FD PMTs.
 We tried the analysis of the field of view of the telescope using this system.
 The pointing direction was determined to be less than 0.1 degree using our analysis.
 We report the hardware details of the device and the status of data analysis.


We investigate the influence of the adverb surprisingly on the meaning of the quantity words few and many, which themselves have been associated with a reading expressing surprise. To learn about the meaning contribution of "surprise", we compare surprisingly with the intensifier incredibly and a compared to phrase explicitly marking surprise. Based on an empirical measure of subjects' expectations about everyday events, a Bayesian model uses data from a sentence judgment task to infer likely levels of surprise associated with the different constructions of interest.


The purpose of this paper is to describe a recent experience with a rare type of benign tumor of the scalp, to narrate its life history with particular reference to alterations in its histologic characteristics and to describe the operative procedure employed in an attempt to improve the disfigurement resulting from the tumor. REPORT OF A CASE A 21 year old clerk was admitted to the neurosurgical service of the Kings County Hospital on Nov. 16, 1938. His chief complaints referred to a marked redundancy of the scalp overlying the left side of the head and to a downward sagging of the left ear. Except that the patient's mother had had a convulsive disorder during childhood, the family history was noncontributory. The past personal history indicated that measles had been the only childhood exanthematous disease contracted by the patient. His health otherwise had been excellent until the onset of the


Mutation Annotation Format (MAF) has become a standard file format for storing somatic/germline variants derived from sequencing of large cohort of cancer samples. MAF files contain a list of all variants detected in a sample along with various annotations associated with the putative variant. MAF file forms the basis for many downstream analyses and provides complete landscape of the cohort. Here we introduce maftools–an R package that provides rich source of functions for performing various analyses, visualizations and summarization of MAF files. Maftools uses data.table library for faster processing/summarization and ggplot2 for generating rich and publication quality visualizations. Maftools also takes advantages of S4 class system for better data representation, with easy to use and flexible functions. Availability and Implementation maftools is implemented as an R package available at https://github.com/PoisonAlien/maftools Contact email@example.com


Sex‐determination mechanisms vary both within and among populations of common frogs, opening opportunities to investigate the molecular pathways and ultimate causes shaping their evolution. We investigated the association between sex‐chromosome differentiation (as assayed from microsatellites) and polymorphism at the candidate sex‐determining gene Dmrt1 in two Alpine populations. Both populations harboured a diversity of X‐linked and Y‐linked Dmrt1 haplotypes. Some males had fixed male‐specific alleles at all markers ("differentiated" Y chromosomes), others only at Dmrt1 ("proto‐" Y chromosomes), while still others were genetically indistinguishable from females (undifferentiated X chromosomes). Besides these XX males, we also found rare XY females. The several Dmrt1 Y haplotypes differed in the probability of association with a differentiated Y chromosome, which we interpret as a result of differences in the masculinizing effects of alleles at the sex‐determining locus. From our results, the polymorphism in sex‐chromosome differentiation and its association with Dmrt1, previously inferred from Swedish populations, are not just idiosyncratic features of peripheral populations, but also characterize highly diverged populations in the central range. This implies that an apparently unstable pattern has been maintained over long evolutionary times.


Abstract In the case of Se, the concentration range between essentiality and toxicity for terrestric animals and humans is rather narrow, while aquatic organisms are much less affected, and no essentiality to green plants and aquatic macrophytes has been established yet. This review focuses on the situation in Europe, where Se levels are generally low. Apart from industrial and mining activities, the main Se sources are the burning of coal and selenite additions to animal feedstuffs. Reduction processes in sediments, soils, and feedstuffs to yield elemental Se act as sinks for available Se forms. In soils and crops, Se levels get enhanced from recycling of manure, dung, and sewage sludge, which is beneficial for Europe. New data from Austria have been added to the detailed discussions. In human nutrition, Se is supplied via pork, liver and kidneys, seafood, and cereals, but main sources as well as blood Se levels vary between different countries and nutritional habits. Food processing, like boiling, baking, or grilling, results in Se losses.


The spent petroleum catalyst contains a significant amount of vanadium and its recovery is essential. Oxalic acid has good metal selectivity due to its complex properties. Leaching experiments with oxalic acid were done to investigate the dissolution behavior of vanadium from spent petroleum catalyst by varying leaching conditions, such as temperature, concentration, pulp density, stirring speed and time. Vanadium and molybdenum were selectively dissolved by oxalic acid from the spent catalysts, while the leaching percentage of other metals was very low. However, the leaching percentage of vanadium by oxalic acid was lower than 45% in most of the leaching conditions. Our results provide some basic information on the dissolution of valuable metals from the spent catalyst by using organic acid.


: MRI and scintigraphy were compared in 73 patients with 104 vertebral fractures aged between three days and 64 months. MRI was performed at 0.5 Tesla and 1.5 Tesla using T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo sequences. Isotope uptake was divided into four grades (normal, mild, moderate and marked increase). 92% of cases aged 0-6 months showed increased signal intensity on T2 sequences. This finding reflects edema in the bone. All these cases showed moderate or markedly increased uptake in 86%. The increased signal intensity in T2 spin-echo images provides a criterion for differentiating new from old fractures. The identification of normal fatty marrow in 91% of fractured vertebrae provides an important means for distinguishing traumatic from neoplastic fractures. One can also demonstrate bleeding, fatty change and sclerotic bone. MRI is less sensitive than scintigraphy, but more specific in following the posttraumatic healing process.


Abstract Improved understanding of the pattern of white matter changes in early and prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD) states such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is necessary to support earlier preclinical detection of AD, and debate remains whether white matter changes in MCI are secondary to gray matter changes. We applied neuropsychologically based MCI criteria to a sample of normally aging older adults; 32 participants met criteria for MCI and 81 participants were classified as normal control (NC) subjects. Whole-head high resolution T1 and diffusion tensor imaging scans were completed. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics was applied and a priori selected regions of interest were extracted. Hippocampal volume and cortical thickness averaged across regions with known vulnerability to AD were derived. Controlling for cortical thickness, the MCI group showed decreased average fractional anisotropy (FA) and decreased FA in parietal white matter and in white matter underlying the entorhinal and posterior cingulate cortices relative to the NC group. Statistically controlling for cortical thickness, medial temporal FA was related to memory and parietal FA was related to executive functioning. These results provide further support for the potential role of white matter integrity as an early biomarker for individuals at risk for AD and highlight that changes in white matter may be independent of gray matter changes. (JINS, 2013, 19, 1–13)


The present paper examines the crucial passages in Lucanus, Valerius Flaccus, Statius and Sily concerning suicide. Lucanus presents a fanatical eulogy of suicide, Valerius Flaccus a rather calculated approach which is guided by almost philosophical considerations resembling those given by the philosopher Seneca, Statius focuses on the problem of self determination and tyranny. Sily's account of the Saguntine suicide combines and modifies different elements of the literary tradition, which sometimes makes it difficult to ascertain the value judgement his narrative is meant to convey to his readers.


____________________________________________________________________ Introduction: The necessity of increasing resources and care support networks to attend the elderly population becomes emergent every year, due to the accelerated growth of the elderly in Brazil. Chronical diseases, functional limitations, increased longevity and the failure of families to offer appropriate support are present in population ageing. At some point in the old age, the necessity of daily care is real. Family is the first to offer this care, as well as some community spaces that give the support and care based on public policy, among which the Long-Term Care Institutions for Elders (ILPI) and the Senior Day Care Centers (CDI). Objective: Verify the comprehension of the managers of the ILPI that also have CDI in two towns (Araraquara and São Carlos) of the state of São Paulo, about the typology of these services. Methodology: This research is exploratory, descriptive and qualitative and quantitive study. It was carried out in the ILPI of São Carlos and Araraquara. Part of the data were collected on a database of the research group involved, followed by the application of a semi structured questionnaire with the managers of the ILPI that also have CDI services. A simple statistical analysis, descriptive, by means of frequency and percentage, as well as the construction of categorical variables through the content analysis was applied as well as the ethical care. Results: There are 26 ILPI, 21 private and 5 philanthropic. They have 833 vacancies, of which 712 are occupied, mostly by women (68%). The routine is determined by activities in the area of feeding, personal care and medication control. Among the 26 ILPI, 16 offered CDI services. Their managers are 11 women and 5 men, 44 years old on average and connected to the ILPI for 2.6 years. Of these, 11 have higher education with a predominance of nursing degrees (5) and business administration (4). Four managers pointed out that the services should have distinct planning, even though the 16 ILPI use the same structure, routine and staff. Conclusion: The managers' vision about the typology of the services seems to be mistaken, performing it without specific technical standards.


Focused shock waves administered during extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) cause stone fragmentation. The process of stone fragmentation is described in terms of a dynamic fracture process. As is characteristic of all brittle materials, fragmentation requires nucleation, growth and coalescence of flaws, caused by a tensile or shear stress. The mechanisms, operative in the stone, inducing these stresses have been identified as spall and compression-induced tensile microcracks, nucleating at pre-existing flaws. These mechanisms are driven by the lithotripter-generated shock wave and possibly also by cavitation effects in the surrounding fluid. In this paper, the spall mechanism has been analysed, using a cohesive-zone model for the material. The influence of shock wave parameters, and physical properties of stone, on stone comminution is described. The analysis suggests a potential means to exploit the difference between the stone and tissue physical properties, so as to make stone comminution more effective, without increasing tissue damage.


: 828 patients were operated on the retroperitoneal organs since 1985 using a retroperitoneoscope. A total of 836 surgical interventions were performed. A cut of 3.0-3.5 cm long was made to revise the kidney and ureter, retroperitoneal part of the colon, tail of the pancreas, retroperitoneal vessels and lymph nodes via lumbocostal and inguinal approaches. A new intercostal (ribs X-XI) approach is proposed. Most of the patients had urolithiasis, pyoinflammatory lesions, renal cysts, varicocele, obstructive uropathies. Complications developed in 1.7% of cases. Retroperitoneoscopy is a method of choice in diagnosis and treatment of retroperitoneal diseases.


A 3-dimensional mathematical model has been developed for a fully coupled analysis with fluid flow and heat transfer in the continuously cast beam blank. A body fitted coordinate system was introduced for the complex geometry of the beam blank. This enables the general program to be formulated to analyze the transport phenomena in the arbitrary shaped geometry. The effects of turbulence and natural convection on fluid flow in the strand were incorporated. The temperature distribution and solidification of the strand coupled with the fluid flow were also analyzed. The solidus and liquidus temperatures of the steel were determined with microsegregation model under the given composition of steel. The effects of fluid flow on the heat transfer, the solidification of steel and the development of shell thickness during the casting of the beam blank were simulated at various casting speed. The recirculating flows appeared in the regions of the web and the flange tip, however, it was not developed between the nozzle and the flange center. The flow normal to the casting direction in the region of the web moved to the upper region of the flange tip near the meniscus. The development of solidifying shell in the center of the flange tip was slowest at the initial stage of the solidification. The development of solidifying shell in the regions of the fillet and the flange center became slow down after the impinging of the inlet flow from the nozzle on the solidifying shell.


Integral and integro-differential equations are one of the most useful mathematical tools in both pure and applied mathematics. In this article, we present a variational iteration method for solving Fredholm integro-differential equations. This study provides an analytical approximation to determine the behavior of the solution. To show the efficiency of the present method for our problems in comparison with the exact solution we report the absolute error. From the computational viewpoint, the variational iteration method is more efficient, convenient and easy to use. The method is very powerful and efficient in nding analytical as well as numerical solutions for wide classes of linear and nonlinear Fredholm integro-differential equations. Moreover, It proves the existence and uniqueness results and convergence of the solution of Fredholm integro-differential equations. Finally, some examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed technique. The convergence theorem and the numerical results establish the precision and efficiency of the proposed technique.


A prominent goal of colleges and universities today is to enact datadriven teaching and learning. Faculty clearly play a key role, and yet they tend to have limited time, a lack of training in assessment or education research, and few incentives for engaging in this work. We describe a framework designed to address the practical and cultural aspects of these challenges via a cycle of educational development and support: motivate, educate, facilitate, disseminate. We illustrate this systems approach with concrete examples and conclude with lessons learned from our experiences that should translate to a variety of institutional contexts.


Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are utilised to adapt the controller gains of two widely used control schemes i.e. static VAr compensators (SVC) and excitation controllers (EC), for the damping of subsynchronous resonance (SSR) on a power system. To have good damping characteristics of SSR modes over a wide range of operating conditions, the parameters of the adaptive controllers are adapted based on generator loading conditions. Multilayer feedforward artificial neural networks (ANNs) are developed to serve for the purpose of controller parameter adaptation. The inputs to the ANN include the real power output P and reactive power output Q which characterise generator loading conditions. The outputs from the ANN are the desired controller gains. Time domain simulations are also performed on the IEEE first benchmark model to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed adaptive control schemes.


Kosovo is undergoing a rapid process of transformation to an independent state,which was formally proclaimed in 2008, after almost a decade under United Nationsadministration. Regarding the health status, five years after independence, compared with other European countries, post-war transitional Kosovo is still characterized by higher mortality rates including traditional public health problems pertinent to infant mortality and maternal deaths. In parallel, however, Kosovo is undergoing a rapid process of epidemiological transition characterized by an aging trend which is inevitably coupled with high cardiovascular and cancer mortality and morbidity along with an excess mortality in external causes of death and injuries among the adult population. Adoption of the new Health Law in December 2012 by the Kosovo Assembly aims the transition from centralized health care system established under emergency conditions of the post-war period towards a contemporary modern health care system with a clear purchaser-provider split based on a high transparency and accountability of the health care providers and their contractors. The health care reform, leading eventually to significant changes within the health sector in Kosovo, consists of two main pillars: (i) structural and functional reorganization of the health care system through establishment of Kosovo Health Service (an autonomous and non-for-profit public enterprise at central level of the health care sector), and; (ii) establishment for the first time of the public health insurance system with a Health Insurance Fund as its main body. Nevertheless, five years after declaration of independence, Kosovo, the newest state in Europe consisting of the youngest population, is currently facing a particularly difficult socioeconomic and political transition and is additionally struggling and mainstreaming all energies and efforts in order to get full international recognition.


Objective. To compare the US EQ-5D with the UK EQ-5D and the SF-6D in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To provide mappings for each of the scales based on clinical variables. Methods. We studied 12,424 patients with RA with 66,958 longitudinal observations using linear regression. In our mapping models we used the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) as a continuous predictor variable and as individual items. More complex models included the addition of a visual analog pain scale, the mood scale from the SF-36, and demographic and comorbidity covariates. We compared various models using root mean squared error (RMSE), in-sample and out-of-sample mean absolute error (MAE), and other measures of prediction accuracy and model fit. Results. At any level of clinical severity, the US EQ-5D always had a higher utility score than the UK EQ-5D; and overall, the US scores were 0.094 units higher. The best models explained 64% to 72% of variance in utility scores, with RMSE values of 0.07 (SF-6D), 0.11 (EQ-5D US), and 0.17 (UK EQ-5D). There was a substantial increase in predictive accuracy by using pain and mood as predictor variables in the mapping. Conclusion. The US EQ-5D differs from the UK version and from the SF-6D in mean scores and ranges. When determined by mapping, the US EQ-5D has a much lower prediction error than the UK EQ-5D. Simple mapping models that use HAQ and pain have acceptable error rates, although more complex models that include mood scores and individual HAQ items substantially improve predictive accuracy.


BACKGROUND: Polyamine synthesis or uptake, or both, might be an important event that initiates the adaptive hyperplasia seen in the intestinal remnant after partial small bowel resection. AIM: The ability of an enteral diet supplemented with the ornithine salt: ornithine alpha ketoglutarate (OKG), a precursor for polyamine synthesis, to modulate the adaptive response of the remnant ileum after jejunectomy was evaluated. METHODS: Adult Wistar rats underwent a resection of the proximal 50% of the small intestine. Controls underwent a single transection. The rats were fed intragastrically with a nutritive mixture supplemented either with casein hydrolysate or with OKG (1 g/kg). The isoenergetic and isonitrogeneous diets was given continuously for seven days. RESULTS: Villus and crypt hyperplasia was observed in the remnant ileum compared with transfected controls. OKG supplementation started after resection a further increase in villus height. After resection, OKG supplementation increased significantly the putrescine content and the amount of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA. A twofold to threefold increase of sucrase activity was measured in the resected animals compared with the transected rats. In contrast, the amount of sucrase mRNA was significantly lower in the ileum of the resected rats and OKG supplementation initiated a further drop in the amount of sucrase mRNA without pronounced changes in enzyme activity. CONCLUSIONS: The adaptive hypertrophy seen after resection can be accelerated by supplementing the diet with ornithine (OKG) a precursor of polyamine synthesis. In the remnant ileum, the reduced amount of sucrase mRNA, despite the increased level of sucrase activity, suggests a post-translational control of sucrase expression.


Microcontrollers are an attractive deployment target due to their low cost, modest power usage and abundance in the wild. However, deploying models to such hardware is non-trivial due to a small amount of on-chip RAM (often < 512KB) and limited compute capabilities. In this work, we delve into the requirements and challenges of fast DNN inference on MCUs: we describe how the memory hierarchy influences the architecture of the model, expose often under-reported costs of compression and quantization techniques, and highlight issues that become critical when deploying to MCUs compared to mobiles. Our findings and experiences are also distilled into a set of guidelines that should ease the future deployment of DNN-based applications on microcontrollers.


Generous coverage of specialty drugs for cancer and other diseases may be valuable not only for sick patients currently using these drugs, but also for healthy people who recognize the potential need for them in the future. This study estimated how healthy people value insurance coverage of specialty drugs, defined as high-cost drugs that treat cancer and other serious health conditions like multiple sclerosis, by quantifying willingness to pay via a survey. US adults were estimated to be willing to pay an extra $12.94 on average in insurance premiums per month for generous specialty-drug coverage--in effect, $2.58 for every dollar in out-of-pocket costs that they would expect to pay with a less generous insurance plan. Given the value that people assign to generous coverage of specialty drugs, having high cost sharing on these drugs seemingly runs contrary to what people value in their health insurance.


The objective of the research is to examine the deformation mechanisms of sand, to study the changes, both isotropic and anisotropic, in the mechanical properties of sand associated with any stress history, which includes consolidation history where large deformation is involved, and to describe the effects of these changes in mechanical properties on the response of sand to any loading along any perceivable stress path. A constitutive theory, with its emphasis to reveal the principles of anisotropy of soil, is proposed. The theory predicts existence of critical states--- ultimate states of perfect plasticity. A philosophical model and a practical engineering model are derived from the basic constitutive theory. Both models are built up in stress and strain tensor spaces in order to model soil behaviour under completely general stress and strain conditions from the interpretation of the results of conventional testing, to reflect the development of anisotropy, and to be capable of describing soil behaviour under all imaginable stress paths. The philosophical model is verified qualitatively and quantitatively. The capabilities of the model are demonstrated by predicting commonly observed soil characteristics, especially those greatly influenced by deformation and stress history. Comparisons between the predictions and experimental results are made and analysed; the model is evaluated based on these comparisons. The engineering model has also been formulated. This dissertation is divided into the following four parts. In part I -Review of Constitutive Modelling of Soil - , previous research work in both experiment and theory is discussed and achievements in both research areas are reviewed. Mechanical properties of soil are revealed from experimental data, and deficiencies of the theoretical modelling of soil behaviour are discussed. With the development of new testing methods and the wide area of engineering operation, consistent formulations of a philosophical model and a practical engineering model are increasingly necessary. In part II - A Critical State Constitutive Theory for Sand - , a constitutive theory is proposed. There are three basic assumptions: (1) Sand is assumed to be an isotropic material, but can be in anisotropic state. The deviation of the current state from isotropic reference states results in anisotropic properties of sand. (2) Deformation of sand is associated with the change of stress state and is attributed to two factors: the effect of stress level change and the effect of stress ratio change. (3) Both isotropic and anisotropic properties of sand depend on stress history: i. e. a change in stress state generally induces changes in mechanical properties. The concept of limit surface, which is influenced by anisotropy and state parameter, is introduced. Both peak strength and critical state strength are dependent on the limit surface. The two typical patterns of sand behaviour, i. e. the behaviour of dense sand and that of loose sand, and their transition are dependent on the stability condition of the limit surface. The forms of the yield surface and the subsequent yielding boundary, which govern the behaviour of soil under stress ratio yielding, are distinguished and investigated in a modified five dimensional deviatoric stress vector space. The formation and development of induced anisotropy are studied based on the two concepts; and three different types of deformation mechanisms are identified and associated with the variation of the yield surface and the boundary. A general flow law is theoretically formulated whih incorporates the different principles governing volumetric strain and distortional strain and describes the influence of induced anisotropy and inherent anisotropy. In part III -A Philosophical Model -, the philosophical model is theoretically formulated from the proposed constitutive theory with experimental observations. Some of the basic features of the model are illustrated. Parameters required by the model are analysed, and all parameters can be determined from conventional triaxial tests on samples specially prepared. The extraction of the parameters from conventional tests is described. Predictions made using the proposed model for tests performed by various researchers with different apparatuses, probing soil behaviour in different parts of the stress tensor space with and without rotation of the principal axes, are carried out. Analysis of the predictions is given in detail, and the performance of the model is evaluated. The achievements of the philosophical model are summarized and further research is suggested. In part IV ---An Engineering Model--- (Appendix A), a practical engineering model is deduced from the basic postulates of the constitutive theory and the performance of the philosophical model. There are seven parameters for the engineering model and all the parameters can be determined from conventional triaxial tests. The procedure for the selection of numerical values for these parameters is illustrated.


Of all the anterior hypophyses tested, those of the human produced the most marked diabetogenic action in the dog with its pancreatic tissue reduced to 4 gm., and in the hypophysectomized and pancreatectomized toad. The human hypophysis also produced diabetogenic action in the normal dog on daily doses of 1.26 mg. per kilo per day for 2 days. The hypophysectomized dog with its pancreas reduced to 4 gm. is very sensitive to the anterior hypophyseal diabetogenic action and is the best test animal for demonstrating such action in mammals. The anterior hypophysis of man, toad, rat, and chicken produces in such animals a diabetogenic action with doses of from 10 to 15 mg. per kilo per day. The bovine anterior hypophysis has identical action in 20 mg. doses. That of canine origin was much less active in a few though inconclusive experiments. It was impossible to demonstrate a diabetogenic action with either guinea pig hypophysis or with that of fish probably because insufficient doses were injected. The diabetogenic action was not obtained by the injection of other organ extracts of toads, dogs and oxen, of corticosterone (30, 40, and 60 mg. in 4 days) or of desoxycorticosterone (80 mg. and 200 mg. in 4 days). The toad (Bufo arenarum Hensel), deprived of its hypophysis and pancreas is the most sensitive biological reactor for testing the diabetogenic action. In this animal the diabetogenic action of anterior hypophyses from varied sources decreased in the following order: man, dog, toad (Bufo arenarum Hensel), white rat, guinea pig, chicken (whole hypophysis), ox, serpent (Constrictor constrictor (L.)), the fish "corvina" Micropogon opercularis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824), and "merluza" Merlucius hubbsi (Marini, 1933).


The conceptual foundations of this paper emerge from the prior research by Hassard et al (2009) in the publication, Managing in a Modern Corporation, which considers work practices. Hassard et al (2009) proposes that work can play an important role in addressing the contextual issues given the scarcity of longitudinal research on post-millennium work practices. They observed increasing work intensification and change within multinationals in differing countries (United Kingdom, United States of America and Japan). Middle Managers' work hours, stress and responsibility were all found to have increased. Therefore it becomes critical to examine whether this has continued to worsen since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and whether it has had an impact on the employee experience.
The initial focus was upon the non-supervisory employees, with middle managers and senior management perceptions being explored as they are also considered employees. Whilst the focus of the study intended to consider the experiences of non-supervisory employees in the first instance, the reality that all levels of employees remain employees, meant that the determination of 'non-supervisory' would not limit the study by not including differing perspectives occupied at each level of employee, in terms of their subsequent responses to the changing nature of their work. Qualitative interview data was gathered from three companies within the EADT (2014) top one hundred companies in the UK's East Anglian region. Since the benefit of template analysis lies with its potential plasticity, the study used a priori themes to develop an initial template to collect the data.
Findings report that the data concurs with the observations of Hassard et al (2009). However further problems emerged stemming from control, time frames, quality and financialisation. The project looks to also extend Hassard et al's (2009) previous work by incorporating employees as a focus, but including and middle managers and senior managers.


The fatherhood literature has expanded over the past several decades, yet the role that fathers may play in their relationships with their problematic adolescents has not been fully examined. Furthermore, because previous findings have suggested that fathers of court-involved daughters may be experiencing intrapsychic and interpersonal difficulties of their own, the present study examined a range of issues that fathers might be facing in their attempts to parent a daughter engaged in problematic behaviors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 14 fathers who had been referred to a familybased diversion program for at-risk adolescents. Several genderspecific themes emerged from the interviews. Fathers of female adolescents, in particular, expressed feelings of uncertainty in their parental role in four main areas: (a) a deficient understanding of their daughter's "female" issues; (b) communication barriers involving topics and style of communication; (c) limited involvement due to a lack of shared interests; and (d) indecision regarding how to effectively address their daughter's problematic behaviors. Future research is discussed that would further explore the impact that fathers' parenting concerns have on their own view of their parental role, their mental health, and their adolescent's well-being as well as how familial and community-based supports could aid in improving the father-daughter relationship in families with court-involved adolescents.


Location estimation in Wireless networks has become an important feature for improvement in public safety service. Its potential applications include location sensitive billing, asset tracking, fraud protection, mobile yellow pages, fleet management, etc. Several location techniques using terrestrial wireless network elements and radio signals have been proposed over the years, but multipath propagation, multiple access interference (MAI), and non-line-of-sight propagation have impeded the accuracy in mobile station (MS) positioning. Traditional location algorithms have derived location estimates assuming single user environment. However this assumption is not correct as measurement bias is introduced due to MAI. An interference cancellation based delay locked loop (DLL) for MS delay estimation is proposed in this paper, which is subsequently used for radio location. A system model is presented and simulations are carried out that show that proposed method provides MS position location quite accurately even in the presence of MAI.


Background Chromosomal translocations resulting in alternative fusions of the human TEL (ETV6) and JAK2 genes have been observed in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia, but a full understanding of their role in disease etiology has remained elusive. In this study potential differences between these alternative TEL-JAK2 fusions, including their lineage specificity, were investigated. Design and Methods TEL-JAK2 fusion types derived from both T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and atypical chronic myelogenous leukemia were generated using the corresponding zebrafish tel and jak2a genes and placed under the control of either the white blood cell-specific spi1 promoter or the ubiquitously-expressed cytomegalovirus promoter. These constructs were injected into zebrafish embryos and their effects on hematopoiesis examined using a range of molecular approaches. In addition, the functional properties of the alternative fusions were investigated in vitro. Results Injection of the T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia-derived tel-jak2a significantly perturbed lymphopoiesis with a lesser effect on myelopoiesis in zebrafish embryos. In contrast, injection of the atypical chronic myelogenous leukemia-derived tel-jak2a resulted in significant perturbation of the myeloid compartment. These phenotypes were observed regardless of whether expressed in a white blood cell-specific or ubiquitous manner, with no overt cellular proliferation outside of the hematopoietic cells. Functional studies revealed subtle differences between the alternative forms, with the acute lymphoblastic leukemia variant showing higher activity, but reduced downstream signal transducer and activator of transcription activation and decreased sensitivity to JAK2 inhibition. JAK2 activity was required to mediate the effects of both variants on zebrafish hematopoiesis. Conclusions This study indicates that the molecular structure of alternative TEL-JAK2 fusions likely contributes to the etiology of disease. The data further suggest that this class of oncogene exerts its effects in a cell lineage-specific manner, which may be due to differences in downstream signaling.


We report the Pd-catalyzed amination of arenes to form N-aryl phthalimides with regioselectivity controlled predominantly by steric effects. Mono-, di-, and trisubstituted arenes lacking a directing group undergo amination reactions with moderate to high yields and high regioselectivities from sequential addition of PhI(OAc)2 as an oxidant in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 as catalyst. This sterically derived selectivity contrasts that for analogous arene acetoxylation.


Central business district (CBD) is the crucial area in modern metropolitan areas. In this study, an evaluation system is proposed to help transportation professionals determine the reasonable scale of road network in CBD. The evaluation system consists of two parts, including a indicator system and a selection system. The indicator system is based on the measurement of several parameters such as the regional road traffic capacity, smoothness of regional road network, unit road load, and regional road network structure, etc. The selection system uses the maximum entropy with the results of the indicator system to select the reasonable road network scale. A case study is also conducted to apply the whole evaluation system to Huaqiao central business district. The research results show that the evaluation system developed in this study can be used as a useful guidance for determining a reasonable road network scale for the city central business district in metropolitan areas in China.


Cancer is one of the major health and social-economic problems despite considerable progress in its early diagnosis and treatment. Owing to the emergence and increase of multi drug resistance to various conventional drugs, and the continuing importance on health-care expenditure, many researchers have focused to develop novel and effective anticancer compounds. In the present study, a series of in-house synthesized quinazoline and quinazolino-benzothiadiazine derivatives were investigated for their anticancer efficacy against a panel of five cancer (DU145, MCF7, HepG2, SKOV3 and MDA-MB-231) and one normal (MRC5) cell lines. Among all the tested compounds, fifteen of them exhibited promising growth-inhibitory effect (0.15 - 5.0 μM) and induced cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase. In addition, the selected compounds inhibited the microtubule assembly; altered mitochondrial membrane potential and enhanced the levels of caspase-9 in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, the active compound with combination of drugs showed synergistic effect at lower concentrations and the drug uptake was mediated through clathrin mediated endocytic pathway. Our results indicated that quinazoline and quinazolino-benzothiadiazine conjugates could serve as potential leads in the development of personalized cancer therapeutics. Summary The present study describes the exploration of small molecules based on heterocyclic scaffolds for tubulin target based development of anticancer agents.


Accidents mainly occur due to driver carelessness. The main aim is to provide awareness and safety mechanism for the driver. Main reason of an accident is due to drowsiness, alcohol consumption and abnormal pulse rate of driving person. In addition to this theft detection, security system and person level identification is determined. In this paper alcohol detection and heart rate monitoring system, person level identification system, eye blink that is drowsiness level, theft detection and mobile free auto reply method is used to avoid an accident. Password authentication, calls divert method, pulse level and eye blink checking mechanism is processed. Each method is used to rectify the carelessness of the driver and immediate intimation technique is developed by use of GSM technology. Their simulation output is viewed by LABVIEW and the hardware module is obtained.


OBJECTIVE To determine effects of IV transfusion with fresh (3-day-old) or stored (35-day-old) autologous erythrocyte concentrate on serum labile iron concentration, iron-binding capacity, and protein interaction with iron in dogs. ANIMALS 10 random-source healthy dogs. PROCEDURES Dogs were randomly assigned to receive autologous erythrocyte concentrate stored for 3 days (n = 5) or 35 days (5). One unit of whole blood was collected from each dog, and erythrocyte concentrates were prepared and stored as assigned. After erythrocyte storage, IV transfusion was performed, with dogs receiving their own erythrocyte concentrate. Blood samples were collected from each dog before and 5, 9, 24, 48, and 72 hours after transfusion. Serum was harvested for measurement of total iron, labile iron, transferrin, ferritin, hemoglobin, and haptoglobin concentrations. RESULTS For dogs that received fresh erythrocytes, serum concentrations of the various analytes largely remained unchanged after transfusion. For dogs that received stored erythrocytes, serum concentrations of total iron, labile iron, hemoglobin, and ferritin increased markedly and serum concentrations of transferrin and haptoglobin decreased after transfusion. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Transfusion with autologous erythrocyte concentrate stored for 35 days resulted in evidence of intravascular hemolysis in healthy dogs. The associated marked increases in circulating concentrations of free iron and hemoglobin have the potential to adversely affect transfusion recipients.


Imaging of Ca 2+ dynamics in the intact islet in vitro has recently been subjected to connectivity analysis informed by similar approaches in neuronal systems. This has revealed the existence of intercellular networks between individual β cells which are increased by high glucose. Here, we sought to investigate if network connectivity also exists in islets in vivo under conditions of near-normal vascularisation and innervation. Donor mouse (C57BL/6J) islets were infected with adenovirus expressing the Ca 2+ sensor GCaMP6m and transplanted into the anterior chamber of the eye in syngeneic recipients. Under isofluorane anaesthesia, fully implanted islets were imaged using a spinning disk confocal microscope (Nikon Ti-E, 25 x water dipping 1.0 NA objective, 300ms exposure time, 1 frame per second, 488nm excitation). Mean baseline blood glucose was 19mM and rose to >30mM following an IP bolus of 1.5g/L glucose. Human islets were infected with AV-GCaMP6m, transplanted into a nu/nu mouse recipient and imaged under conditions of normoglycaemia (blood glucose 3.9-4.9 mM followed by hyperglycaemia (blood glucose >30 mM). As circulating blood glucose increased, the proportion of connected cells in mouse islets rose from 65.5% to 88.3% (n=3 islets in 3 different animals, p=0.02) whilst the coefficient of correlation (a measure of the strength of the connectivity) showed a tendency to increase from 0.34 to 0.44 (p=NS). Data from human islets also revealed a tendency towards a rise in connectivity from 58.3% to 63.9% in response to rising circulating glucose. These data demonstrate that functional connectivity of Ca 2+ dynamics between β cells is conserved in vivo in both mouse and human islets, with enhanced connectivity patterns observed in response to rising blood glucose levels. This technique, which allows β cell connectivity to be examined prospectively over time, will provide a powerful new approach for assessing its significance in health and disease. Disclosure V. Salem: None. K. Suba: None. A. Martin Alonso: None. P.L. Chabosseau: None. E. Georgiadou: None. T. Stylianides: None. L. Briant: None. D. Hodson: None. G. Carrat: None. I. Leclerc: None. D.C. Gaboriau: None. S.M. Rothery: None. G.A. Rutter: Research Support; Self; Servier.


In the history of Intelligent Tutoring Systems, SOPHIE (Brown, Burton, and Bell, 1974), now considered a classic, contained many important ideas and features. One of these was its natural language user interface. Today, the trend has moved away from natural language interfaces towards graphical ones although the argument in favour of natural language user interfaces, both from Human Computer Interaction and natural language researchers, still persist. Is this argument correct?

This thesis explores this question by investigating how SOPHIE might be re-implemented with a graphical direct manipulation interface instead of a natural language one, with the goal of improving its standard of usability. It begins by analysing the features that seem to have been central to SOPHIE's usability. These, it argues, were not so much an ability to accept well formed complete English sentences, as an ability to accept and interpret correctly a wide range of abbreviated inputs.

Two models of interaction, Circuit 1, a pilot, and Circuit II, a fairly full implementation of SOPHIE were implemented and tested. Both employ free-order syntax that allows users to specify the components of a full command in any order. The combination of deixis and free-order syntax supported allows completely general ellipsis which achieves, in extended interaction sequences, the same economy and naturalness that SOPHIE achieved through its use of anaphora and ellipsis.

Whilst the free-order syntax. technique is little used at present in user interfaces, the results of observational studies conducted have shown that it saves users time and convenience. Thus, considering key linguistic features of a natural language user interface has shown how novel features can enhance the usability of direct manipulation interfaces. This thesis argues that user interfaces can be improved by employing structures found in natural language or at least conversation which can be constructed within direct manipulation interface styles.

This approach was further expanded to support topic shifts between different circuit contexts. Circuit II, like SOPHIE, supports three different topics: normal circuit behaviour, a circuit with an unknown fault, and circuits with user-hypothesised faults. Drawing on Reichman's (1981) work, Circuit II uses natural language cue phrases of the type "by the way", re-implemented in the direct manipulation style, to facilitate shifts between topics in a smoother and more natural way than SOPHIE which , used clumsy explicit commands.


Violent crimes often result in blood-shed events associated with blood spatter. Bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA) serves as a good tool and effective approach to reconstruct the events that occur in a crime scene. Among other bloodstain patterns, impact spatter patterns are commonly found at crime scenes. An impact pattern is formed as a result of an impact force striking an exposed blood source and can be described as a radiating pattern of small individual drops. In most cases of BPA, the reconstruction of the events taken place involve investigating the blood drop flight dynamics and the mechanics of impact spatter generation to determine the origin of the impact. Thus, the discipline of Fluid Dynamics (FD) is also involved in most BPA cases. However, in the cases of multiple impact spatter generation events within a crime scene, it complicates the interpretation and analysis of the impact spatter pattern.

There are many variables of blood drop flight dynamics and mechanisms of impact spatter generation in which a blood drop is exposed to and generated from. The variables of blood drop flight dynamics such as drop deformations/oscillations, breakup, diameter with respect to velocity and air/wind currents do affect a drop while in flight which may alter the trajectory curvature of a blood drop. However, it is relatively unknown in scientific literature how the variables of impact spatter generation setup such as the height of the blood source and impact force applied would affect the horizontal distance travelled by a blood drop generated from an impact spatter. Theoretically, there is also limited literature with regards to the correlation of blood drop flight dynamics to maximum horizontal distance travelled by blood drop. This literature review aims to address the effect of blood drop flight dynamics and the mechanisms of impact spatter generation setup have on the maximum horizontal distance travelled by a blood drop. The purpose of this literature review is to dictate parameters for potential research that may aid in answering the investigative question.


Motivated by distributed machine learning settings such as Federated Learning, we consider the problem of fitting a statistical model across a distributed collection of heterogeneous data sets whose similarity structure is encoded by a graph topology. Precisely, we analyse the case where each node is associated with fitting a sparse linear model, and edges join two nodes if the difference of their solutions is also sparse. We propose a method based on Basis Pursuit Denoising with a total variation penalty, and provide finite sample guarantees for sub-Gaussian design matrices. Taking the root of the tree as a reference node, we show that if the sparsity of the differences across nodes is smaller than the sparsity at the root, then recovery is successful with fewer samples than by solving the problems independently, or by using methods that rely on a large overlap in the signal supports, such as the group Lasso. We consider both the noiseless and noisy setting, and numerically investigate the performance of distributed methods based on Distributed Alternating Direction Methods of Multipliers (ADMM) and hyperspectral unmixing.


It's almost impossible to imagine a world without social media. With two billion active users around the world liking, sharing and tweeting every day, social media transcends all demographic lines--its users represent people of all ages, genders and ethnicities. Social media is used as a news vehicle, a political sounding board, a consumer forum and, of course, a communication tool for businesses. Bankers clearly see the value of social media; in a survey published recently by ABA on the state of social media in banking, an overwhelming majority--76 percent--said social media was important to their institution. Despite that, many banks are still only in the early stages of their social media journeys: only 24 percent of bankers have been using social media for more than five years. The rest are either just starting out (63 percent), planning to do so in the next 1 to 2 years (5 percent), or have no plans to use social media at all (9 percent). When Jeff McCarthy joined First Bank Financial Centre in Oconomowoc, Wis., three years ago as VP of marketing, the bank was using social media, but lacked a cohesive strategy. "We had all these great stories to tell, but a relatively small marketing budget to tell them," he says. "I was looking for ways to tell those stories to show people our personality, show our commitment to the community without spending a ton of dollars. Social media seemed like a great place to do that." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] McCarthy (who was one of several bankers interviewed for the ABA survey) took the opportunity to retool the bank's social media program, creating a strategy that leveraged Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedln to engage customers and build the bank's brand. He also hired a social media coordinator to take over day-to-day management the program. "To do social media the way we wanted to do it, we needed someone whose full attention was focused on it," he says. "We want to be active, we want to be engaged and we want to be able to respond to people who are communicating with us on a timely basis. If you're outsourcing that, or it's an afterthought, you're going to miss a lot of opportunities." For banks that do use social media, community engagement is a top priority, according to the survey. Banks are taking to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other channels to spread the word about the many ways they support their communities--spotlighting local businesses, spreading the word about charity events ... even becoming a hotspot for catching Pokemon. Take Citizens Bank of Edmond in Edmond, Okla. The bank achieved viral success in its promotion of "Heard on Hurd," a monthly street festival it sponsors. The bank ramped up its use of Instagram to help spread the word, using the hashtag #jointhehurd to encourage members of the community to share their photos of the event. President and CEO Jill Castilla (another survey participant) notes that the bank intentionally keeps a modest profile at the event, choosing to showcase the community over the bank's brand. The response has been significant--the first Heard on Hurd event far exceeded attendance expectations, and today, the festivals attract 20,000 to 30,000 people. At Busey Bank in Champaign, III., communications manager Christa Dubson says that the bank's top priorities in social media are to engage the community, deepen customer relationships and respond to customer service needs. Busey falls into the "early adopter" category of banks that have been active on social media for five years or more, and Dubson says that the company's social media strategy is to "have a presence where our customers, associates and community members are. …


The Turkish diaspora is growing rapidly in North America. Despite the vast number of studies investigated social integration and the identity construction of Turkish immigrants in European countries, Turkish communities in the United States and Canada attracted lesser attention in the academic literature. This paper seeks to understand the identity formation and acculturation attitudes of Turks and their perceptions of rejection and acceptance from their respective societies in a post 9/11 context through interviews with Turkish opinion/community leaders living in the United States and Canada.


The Internet is increasingly being called upon to provide different levels of service to different applications and users. A practical problem in doing so is that although Ethernet is one of the hops for nearby all communication in the Internet, it does not provide any QoS guarantees. A natural question, therefore, is the effect of offered load on Ethernet throughput and delay. In this paper, we present several techniques for accurately and efficiently modeling the behavior of a heavily loaded Ethernet link. We propose an efficient distributed simulation model, called Fast Ethernet Simulation, that empirically models an Ethernet link to quickly and accurately simulate it. By eliminating the implementation of the CSMA/CD protocol, our approach reduces computational complexity drastically while still maintaining desirable accuracy. Performance results show that our techniques not only add very little overhead (less than 5% in our tests) to the basic cost of simulating an Ethernet link, but also closely match real-world measurements. We also present efficient techniques for compressing cumulative distributions using hyperbolic curves and for monitoring the load on a heavily loaded link. Finally, we show applications to illustrate the potential usage of the Fast Ethernet Simulation.


Discussions of Islamic medical ethics tend to focus on Sharī'ah-based, or obligation-based, ethics. However, limiting Islamic medical ethics discourse to the derivation of religious duties ignores discussions about moulding an inner disposition that inclines towards adherence to the Sharī'ah. In classical Islamic intellectual thought, such writings are the concern of adab literature. In this paper, we call for a renewal of adabi discourse as part of Islamic medical ethics. We argue that adab complements Sharī'ah-based writings to generate a more holistic vision of Islamic medical ethics by supplementing an obligation-based approach with a virtue-based approach. While Sharī'ah-based medical ethics focuses primarily on the moral status of actions, adab literature adds to this genre by addressing the moral formation of the agent. By complementing Sharī'ah-based approaches with adab-focused writings, Islamic medical ethics discourse can describe the relationship between the agent and the action, within a moral universe informed by the Islamic intellectual tradition.


We are living in an era in which data is generated in huge volume with high velocity and variety. Big Data and technology are reshaping our life and business. Our research inevitably needs to catch up with these changes. In this short essay, we focus on two aspects of supply chain management, namely, demand management and manufacturing. We feel that, while rapidly growing research on these two areas is contributed by scholars in computer science and engineering, the developments made by production and operations management society have been insufficient. We believe that our field has the expertise and talent to push for advancements in the theory and practice of demand management and manufacturing (of course, among many other areas) along unique dimensions. We summarize some relevant concepts emerged with Big Data and present several prototype models to demonstrate how these concepts can lead to rethinking of our research. Our intention is to generate interests and guide directions for new research in production and operations management in the era of Big Data.


Magnetic nanoparticles and their assemblies are subjects of considerable scientific interest for basic research, but also for applications as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and for hyperthermia. Such applications depend on the production of stable suspensions of the particles, it is important therefore to characterise the particles in suspension. In this work photon correlation spectroscopy was used to measure of the hydrodynamic size of the particles. NMR techniques were used to determine the stability and to quantify the contrast efficiency (relaxivity) of the suspensions. This work has also provided insight into the nature of the nanoclusters in suspension and into the mechanisms of their growth.

In the first part of this thesis the synthesis, stabilisation and magnetic properties of aqueous magnetite nanocomposite suspensions which are formed in the presence of fatty acids or DNA are presented. For fatty-acid stabilised nanocomposites the NMR response is sensitively dependent on the method of preparation, which cab result in magnetically blocked or superparamagnetic nanoclusters. In the case of the DNA nanocomposites, the biomolecule acts as a template for the preparation of low dimensional assemblies, or magnetic nanowires, whose suspensions exhibit high relaxivity at low magnetic field.

In this second part the synthesis, stabilisation and magnetic properties of magnetite nanoparticle suspensions formed in organic solvents in the presence of long chain surfactants are presented. The influence of nanoparticle size on the magnetic properties is discussed in detail. The NMR response of the particles in non-aqueous suspension is shown to conform to a model previously developed for aqueous suspensions of magnetite. Studies of the controlled clustering of the nanoparticles in organic solvents are presented. The mechanism and kinetics of nanocluster growth are discussed.


Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important mediator of inflammatory processes. However, controversial findings also exist, and its underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Recently, the byproducts of H2S, per-/polysulfides, emerged as biological mediators themselves, highlighting the complex chemistry of H2S. In this study, we characterized the biological effects of P*, a slow-releasing H2S and persulfide donor. To differentiate between H2S and polysulfide-derived effects, we decomposed P* into polysulfides. P* was further compared to the commonly used fast-releasing H2S donor sodium hydrogen sulfide (NaHS). The effects on oxidative stress and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression were assessed in ATDC5 cells using superoxide measurement, qPCR, ELISA, and Western blotting. The findings on IL-6 expression were corroborated in primary chondrocytes from osteoarthritis patients. In ATDC5 cells, P* not only induced the expression of the antioxidant enzyme heme oxygenase-1 via per-/polysulfides, but also induced activation of Akt and p38 MAPK. NaHS and P* significantly impaired menadione-induced superoxide production. P* reduced IL-6 levels in both ATDC5 cells and primary chondrocytes dependent on H2S release. Taken together, P* provides a valuable research tool for the investigation of H2S and per-/polysulfide signaling. These data demonstrate the importance of not only H2S, but also per-/polysulfides as bioactive signaling molecules with potent anti-inflammatory and, in particular, antioxidant properties.


We show that the size of the public debt, the budget deficit and the monetary overhang made it impossible for France to stabilize its price level and return to the pre-war parity immediately after World War I, even on the anti-keynesian assumption that a stabilization would not have had any negative effects on real income. The reason for the immediate postwar inflation then was not mismanaged policy but a wise choice in the French context. Nevertheless, a stabilization at a devalued franc which would have been substantially higher than the rate achieved by Poincar'' in 1926 was historically possible in early 1924, and it would likely have benefited not only France but the entire international monetary system.


P308 On Permeability Attributes of a Reservoir Layer N.L. Baransky (Paradigm Geophysical) E.A. Kozlov* (Paradigm Geophysical) O.Y. Kirseleva (Paradigm Geophysical) E.A. Davydova (Rosneft) M.L. Afanasiev (Rosneft) & A. Lowrie (Consultant) SUMMARY Several seismic attributes were proposed recently to map permeability using particulars of frequency content of reflected wavetrains. Some attributes are expected to show increase of relative content of high frequencies with the increase of permeability while other attributes assumed just the reversed regularity. Actually both these kinds of proportionality were observed. Here we provide a possible explanation of these observations using effective model of a permeable dual porosity layer


Latin America in the World Economy considers the dual aspect of Latin American development: how external factors (phases of world capitalism since Columbus) interweave with internal factors (Latin American culture, politics, and social groups). Within his skillful approach, Weaver demonstrates how domestic social conflicts and power relations have consistently capitalized on changes in the international economy, while, conversely, engagement with the international economy has consistently constrained local struggles and patterns of change. With over half of the book dedicated to the "short" twentieth century (after 1930), Latin America in the World Economy is appropriate for courses in Latin American economic history, political economy, and development.


Results of experiments in rabbits in which the disappearance of Evans Blue labeled plasma proteins was used as a measure of vascular integrity, indicate that Dicumarol does increase the rate of loss of plasma proteins from the blood stream. This action does not occur immediately after the introduction of Dicumarol into the blood stream but requires a latent period of between 90 and 180 minutes. During this time there may actually be a decreased rate of loss from the blood. The degree of increase in the dye disappearance rate, although not directly correlated with the degree of hypoprothrombinemia, can be roughly correlated with the extent and severity of internal hemorrhage. These results tend to confirm the idea that vascular fragility, usually considered independent of vascular permeability, may in this instance be the preliminary manifestation of Dicumarol hemorrhagic diathesis. In experiments where the effect of Dicumarol on exchange of protein between plasma and the peritoneal cavity was measured, it has been found that the presence of vitamin K1 in the blood in sufficient amount to completely block the hypoprothrombinemic action will also block the tendency toward increased protein exchange. Also, if Dicumarol is introduced into the peritoneal cavity rather than directly into the blood stream, the increase in transperitoneal protein exchange rate appears to be fairly proportional to the degree of hypoprothrombinemia. It is concluded that although the possibility of several independent actions of Dicumarol exists, one effecting vascular permeability and another inhibiting the elaboration of coagulation factors, it is more likely that the changes seen in vascular integrity are related to the effects of the drug on the coagulation mechanism by way of vitamin K inhibition.


This Article examines three facets of the relationship between statutory interpretation and the law of stare decisis: judicial interpretation, administrative interpretation, and interpretive methodology. In analyzing these issues, I emphasize the role of stare decisis in pursuing balance between past and present. That role admits of no distinction between statutory and constitutional decisions, calling into question the practice of giving superstrong deference to judicial interpretations of statutes. The pursuit of balance also suggests that one Supreme Court cannot bind future Justices to a wide-ranging interpretive methodology. As for rules requiring deference to administrative interpretations of statutes and regulations, they are articulated at high levels of generality, cut across numerous contexts, and dictate the inferences that future Justices must draw from congressional and administrative ambiguity. Taken in combination, these factors give rise to a strong argument that deference regimes like the Chevron and Auer doctrines fall outside the bounds of stare decisis.


Objective: The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic further increased this stress of employees. This disease, which did not have a cure and a vaccine at the beginning, increased the anxiety of the employees and forced them to live separately due to the risk of infecting family members. This study aimed to investigate the burnout levels of doctors and technicians working in Yenimahalle Training and Research Hospital Anaesthesiology and Reanimation Clinic.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted prospectively by using a questionnaire method in the Yenimahalle Training and Research Hospital. Maslach Burnout questionnaire applied to the participants. Quantitative data were expressed as %, the number of subjects as (n). The distribution of continuous variables was evaluated with the Kolmogorov-Smirnow test. Qualitative data were expressed in mean±SD (standard deviation). X2 test was used for comparison of categorical variables. Independent Student T-test was used for comparison of continuous variables. The relationship between burnout level and variables was determined by Pearson Correlation Test. The value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: A total of 52 volunteers participated in the study. The average emotional exhaustion score of the volunteers participating in the study was 31.13±4.6, the average depersonalization score was 15.06±3.3, and the mean personal achievement score was 23.60±3.7. There was no statistically significant relationship between any of the variables and the burnout level (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The high level of burnout in a clinic that is at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19, such as anesthesiology and reanimation, is important in terms of determining the situation.